Shanice Tang Ho-yan (right), web production and creative manager at ZUJI Hong Kong, thinks that with the growth of the internet and mobile device users, the demand for online travel agents will increase exponentially in the coming years.

A couple who lost all their luggage last month on a flight from Phuket to Hong Kong were left badly out of pocket after the airline and an insurance firm they used offered them compensation they say is shockingly low.

The use of social media as a sales and marketing tool has grown rapidly, especially among online travel agencies. Zuji Hong Kong has stepped up its Facebook campaigns, while Hotel.com has launched a campaign on the same site to enable people from different locations to jointly select and book rooms.

After every holiday season, I'm so tired I feel I need to get away for a holiday. If you feel the same, online portal Zuji might be the site to visit. The travel website is teaming up with the New Zealand Tourism Board to give away a free trip to Auckland. As part of the 100% Pure New Zealand campaign, they're offering a bunch of deals on flights and hotels to the Kiwi nation.

Beer lovers will enjoy Zuji's happy hour, with two-for-one hotel offers for leading British beer festivals. Zuji is offering specials for the Eastbourne Beer Festival (Oct 9-11), and the Bedford Beer and Cider Festival (Oct 8-11) which means you pay for two nights and get the third free.

For those looking to head to Europe, Zuji has some great hotel packages in all major cities, including Copenhagen. Stay at The Square Hotel, a four-star property with clean modern lines and a central location that will appeal to both business and leisure travellers. Being close to Copenhagen's central train station makes connecting with the airport or other Scandinavian countries a breeze.

The only people I know who visit high-street travel agents are eightysomethings and skinflints keen to exploit a 'won't-be-beaten-on-price' guarantee after finding a hot online deal. Small wonder; an agent charges a service fee and tries to maximise the cost while tapping the same websites as everyone else - only secretively, in a magisterial manner, from behind a desk.

Booking a holiday used to be a nerve-jangling exercise involving endless trips to the travel agent, interminable waiting lists and so much stress and strain that you needed a weekend break just to recover from it.

A 'summer Santa' promotion came to Hong Kong yesterday in the form of a floating island in Victoria Harbour. The island, atop a 26-metre barge, featured bikini-clad mannequins, palm trees and a beach made of 20 tonnes of sand.